Hubble Optics 16" f/4.5 UL Dobsonian - thoughts anyone?

[cloud_cover]

After looking around, I'm seriously consideering a new HO 16" Dob.
Its an f/4.5 design with an eyepiece height of 167.5cm, weighs 60lbs and retails for 2K USD at least till year-end. An Obsession 15" (premium scope) will cost twice as much.
One of the main benefits of the HO scope is shipping - a traditional format dob from the US will cost about US$1K for a 16" and US$600 for a 12.5, especially is the mirrors are shipped separately, not counting GST.
The HO scope on the other hand ships for US$192 via air and HK is near enough that you can hop onto a budget flight and come back again with almost the same cost as shipping, including baggage charge,especially during special offers.
Unfortunately HO does not have a retail outlet so there's no possibility of hands-on, and its a very new (and unknown) product, so there's no reviews, only speculation.
Thoughts anyone?
Its relatively cheap for a 16", mirror has had some good comments previously (mirror alone, but then, 99.9% of astro reviews are good) and does feature light setup, quick cooling = convenient = more frequently used.
On the other hand, its a completely unknown product, designs of this type have historical issues on stability and it will need further work to optimise it for urban use (extra baffling, extending the shroud.

[Canopus Lim]

Hmm.. never read any review or seen any pictures of this scope before. If you were to take on this route, it will have its risks in terms of optical quality, stability of the design, movements of the dob (not all dob move smoothly), vibration and ease of assembly and collimation (including stability at different altitude levels. It is possible it can get miscollimated while panning the scope if the method of holding the mirror in place is not that good).

[acc]

Wow it almost looks too good to be true... I would plan a holiday to HK to check it out first if I were you. I would be most concerned about vibrations and whether the scope holds collimation well when in use. A paracorr will be needed for sure.

[acc]

Google brought me to your post in CloudyNights...
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/ ... art/2/vc/1

Have they replied regarding the stiffness of the structure?

[cloud_cover]

The seller has been quite prompt about answering my questions about sales and shipping but so far not a word about questions on the actual operation of the item itself.
Apparently you can't "hands-on" so even a trip to HK is useless. I'll have to buy it first to get a feel of it.
Seller says a review is pending on astronomytechnologytoday and he's sold quite a few sets so he's expecting posts on CN.
We'll see